Stellar cookware (designed in Bristol)
When people and pets gather together in kitchens, it’s important to know how to keep all the family safe. From avoiding toxic foods to knowing about allergies, and keeping kitchens safe from many hazards like hot water. Also use safety gates, have a first aid kit and extinguisher/blanket nearby, and keep emergency numbers to hand.
Sharp Objects and Tools
Keep knives in a knife block, and scissors and graters in drawers with childproof locks. Learn how to chop food properly (and safely), keeping knives sharp (a dull knife is more dangerous).
Hot Surfaces and Liquids
Turn pot handles inwards, make use of back burners and avoid floaty sleeves when cooking (tie long hair up). Keep tea towels away from open flames, and be aware of children and pets nearby. Keep them away from boiling kettles and trailing wires (say for slow cookers on the counter).
Prevent Food Poisoning
Wash hands before and after preparing food, and keep surfaces (and chopping boards) clean using unscented cleaners and dishwash liquid (keep all cleaning items away from children and pets, especially citrus oils which are toxic to furry friends). Food Standards Agency offers online food training courses.
Check Medication for Foods to Avoid
Some people cannot eat certain foods like grapefruit or excessive green leafy veggies, due to vitamin K interaction. This does not mean that you can’t have spinach – just don’t chug down a smoothie made with a whole broccoli each day!
Foods to Avoid When Pregnant
Pregnant (and breastfeeding) women must avoid certain foods to keep them and babies safe. Also wash soil off salads and vegetables and avoid caffeine. Foods to avoid include:
- Alcohol and caffeine
- Some herb teas (check labels)
- Raw meat, liver and cold-cut meats (salami, prosciutto, pepperoni, chorizo)
- Game meats (goose, partridge, pheasant)
- All pâté (including vegetarian pâté)
- Raw or partially cooked eggs
- Licorice and licorice root
- Too much ginger (contracts uterus to cause early labour)
- If you eat fish: avoid raw fish, and no more than 2 weekly portions of oily fish or tuna steaks (no more than 4 cans of tuna)
Choking Hazards for Children and Pets
Choking hazard foods should be avoided for children and people with allergies or swallowing difficulties. Also keep small toys off the kitchen floor where toddlers and pets could find them. Download this e-book on vegetarian textured foods for hospitals, care homes and older patients. Learn how to help someone who is choking. Foods to avoid include:
- Nuts, seeds and nut/seed butters
- Dry bread, crackers, croutons
- Crumbly foods like pies or biscuits
- Peas, grapes, cherry tomatoes, cherries (slice if served)
- Carrot sticks
- Sausages (slice lengthwise and again for older children)
- Foods with seeds (raspberries etc)
- Boiled sweets
- Sticky foods (some cheese, marshmallow, mochi)
- Tough foods (steak, bacon), and skin/bone/gristle
- Stringy foods (beans, rhubarb)
- Floppy foods (lettuce, cucumber, spinach)
- Chia seeds (mix with water first, if using for others)
Foods to Avoid Near Pets
Learn more on choosing better brands of pet food. Read this book to keep dogs safe for info on first aid, food/water bowls and preventing bloat. Avoid feeding cooked bones (can choke). Foods to keep away from pets include:
- Chocolate (including white chocolate) and caffeine
- Raw eggs & fish (salmon has a fatal parasite)
- Alliums (garlic, onion, shallots, leeks, chives)
- All citrus fruits & dried fruits
- Mushrooms & avocado
- Fruit pips & seeds (natural cyanide)
- Faux meats (inc. jackfruit)
- Raw bread dough (expands in the stomach)
- Corn-on-the-cob (choking hazard)
- Spices (esp. nutmeg & mace)
- Most nuts (esp. macadamia) & seeds
- Xylitol (a sweetener, if used)
If you grow your own food, create a safe garden for pets (avoid facing foliage from indoor plants to gardens, to help stop birds flying into windows).
Don’t Cook Near Domestic Birds
Most non-stick pans are made with PFOA (a chemical that ends up in our oceans). You can buy non-toxic alternatives, but even if companies say the opposite, all cooking fumes are dangerous around caged birds (likely happier in an aviary).
